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IBM OpenPages vs RSA Archer vs SAP BusinessObjects GRC comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the GRC category, the mindshare of IBM OpenPages is 4.5%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of RSA Archer is 12.8%, down from 16.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is 1.3%, down from 2.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
GRC Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
RSA Archer12.8%
IBM OpenPages4.5%
SAP BusinessObjects GRC1.3%
Other81.4%
GRC
 

Featured Reviews

Badri Anand Santhanam - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhancing enterprise risk management and reporting capabilities with insightful dashboards and automated features.
IBM OpenPages offers strong reporting capabilities with Cognos integration, providing standard tabular reports, various charts, and powerful dashboards for different lines of defense. It caters to the first line managing risks and controls, the second line of SMEs providing oversight, and the independent audit function with an internal audit management module. The solution is more intuitive and task-based, allowing better involvement of the risk function across different lines of defense. The automated features translate into reporting capabilities, and data can be easily extracted and downloaded in different formats.
IMRAN ALMARZOOQI - PeerSpot reviewer
Automates compliance management effectively but needs improved interface and dashboards
The tool basically automates whatever processes you already have, so I cannot specify improvements in that regard. However, my main issue with Archer is the graphics. The graphics have always been lacking. I always need to depend on another tool to read information from Archer to have better dashboards. It is like using Linux, and it has a Linux mindset and interface. I want to use Archer for top management and CEOs, but it looks too technical, and the dashboards are not really friendly. They are bulky, like opening an old Nintendo system from nineteen-ninety. The management agrees that Archer lacks in terms of presentation and dashboarding. It is complex, not user-friendly, and bulky. The interface just looks old.
Vishal Guthula - PeerSpot reviewer
Experienced security and easy understanding with advanced customization enhances efficiency
Regarding automation, they could enhance features for checking real-time data when someone attempts to access data without proper permissions. Currently, we do not receive immediate alerts; we only discover issues after something goes wrong. Having prevention alerts immediately when someone triggers unauthorized actions would allow us to address these situations proactively.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"Everything about IBM OpenPages is valuable, particularly when compared to other solutions in the market like MetricStream, from which we switched due to its feasibility, user-friendliness, and performance."
"IBM OpenPages saves time in my work as a developer."
"The most valuable features are the workflow engine, calculations, and security rules."
"IBM OpenPages provides time savings in recording risk management components."
"The ability to keep a record of internal incidents in the company, and also the monitoring of Key Indicators."
"The content, reporting, and workflow features stand out as the most valuable aspects."
"Archer seamlessly integrates data systems without requiring additional software."
"Solution is scalable."
"I like how Archer requires very little programming ability. A person with minimum coding experience can configure the necessary fields in Archer. It's more of a drag-and-drop solution."
"The last project was for an investment group that was using Excel. Shifting their records from one position to another took approximately 15 minutes. In Archer, we created a workflow for them to leverage it, and they could send the single record with one click to one person within seconds. The whole process went from 15 minutes to two minutes to get the approval for the records. The main purpose of Archer is to just make it easy."
"The solution has improved my organization by having everything combined to a single platform."
"It has the best workload management features."
"The most valuable features are the advanced workflow and the dashboards. This tool can present data wonderfully to management, and it is easy for them to manage the risk plans."
"The integrated data model of a one-to-many/many-to-one relationship is quite useful."
"The customization options in the dashboards inside SAP BusinessObjects GRC are highly valuable, and the real-time monitoring feature performs effectively, allowing teams to maintain data security by restricting domain visibility."
"It is wonderful from the control perspective. The GRC tools help you in knowing what are the risk controls, how to mitigate risks, and how to ensure that there are no conflicts between the roles. From the user perspective, you get to know what are the permission risks and access risks. You get a lot of useful information."
"The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports"
"Initial setup was straightforward. It took maybe one week."
"The stability of SAP BusinessObjects GRC is acceptable."
"The best features are the scalability and flexibility to implement applications on top of the BW."
"We have enterprise clients for the product."
 

Cons

"It would be useful to have more out-of-the-box functionality, especially triggers and calculations."
"IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and can produce errors."
"Some self-relationships are not available in OpenPages' relationship model."
"I believe there's room for improvement in establishing connections with external information."
"IBM OpenPages needs improvement in its UI. Currently, it is difficult to see the relationships (associations/parents) between all items unless you click on the item itself."
"IBM needs to work on pricing for organizations with around 100 users, as the licensing model is not competitive enough for SMEs."
"The solution can be a little slow due to the Silverlight feature."
"GUI could be improved."
"The bullet chart is the best graph for my purposes, and it should be available for inclusion in the dashboards."
"RSA Archer might be a bit expensive for small companies because it's a vast tool."
"In a future release, there should be an option to upload the main data."
"The solution as a whole could be simplified."
"I find the tech support to be inadequately knowledgeable."
"Archer could be improved by having more customization. I'm not sure if the backend processes have API calls and those kinds of seamless integrations, but from the front, some of the solutions are very out-of-the-box. It's not customizable, so that could be a little problematic since you have to use their features. In terms of the backend structure, I'm not too sure because I'm not a developer—I was an end user and product owner of Archer—and I don't quite know the backend and developmental features. But since it's an out-of-the-box solution, sometimes customization was challenging and support was a little problematic because we had to reach out to them all the time."
"Technical support could be better and faster."
"We cannot actively log in to the system. It should also improve support."
"Currently, we do not receive immediate alerts; we only discover issues after something goes wrong."
"I think the old system is better than the new one. From an improvement perspective, the tool needs to ensure that the new technologies it offers are better than the old ones."
"I am working on features that are not functioning as expected, which creates significant difficulties in management."
"An additional feature I would like to see is the option to add wait time and integrate sources in wait time."
"BusinessObjects is very dated. It is not that user-friendly. It should be made more user-friendly. In addition, if they could make predictive analytics an embedded part of it where people get to know what is there to offer, it would be great."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of the solution is very affordable."
"I am not sure about other companies, but it's quite expensive."
"The price of RSA Archer is good. The price isn't too high considering it is a leading tool in the market."
"The initial purchase is cheap. You pay a nominal price to start then renew the license annually. You also must buy a license for each module. I'm not too fond of that aspect of the licensing model. You buy the elephant and then spend more money to feed the elephant."
"RSA Archer's price is justifiable and not as expensive, compared to ServiceNow. I have heard that the licensing for ServiceNow is much more expensive. I'm unaware whether there are any additional costs after licensing fees."
"At the higher end of the price scale, but provides better, more accessible functionality and customization than cheaper products."
"Fairly highly-priced, especially for smaller companies."
"The solution is not at all a cheap product."
"SAP BusinessObjects GRC is expensive."
"The product's licensing costs involve a one-time purchase. The tool also allows others to make annual payments towards the licensing charges of the product."
"The license is costly."
"There is a yearly licensing cost. I would rate their pricing 4 out of 5."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
5%
Retailer
5%
Financial Services Firm
21%
Insurance Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
7%
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Insurance Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise1
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise6
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business1
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM OpenPages?
The product’s interface is very intuitive.
What needs improvement with IBM OpenPages?
IBM OpenPages could improve by adding more conditions to workflows, as some existing conditions might not work and ca...
What is your primary use case for IBM OpenPages?
I primarily use IBM OpenPages ( /products/ibm-openpages-reviews ) for compliance and audit programs.
What do you like most about RSA Archer?
It has various valuable features. For example, showing us if a control aligns with specific standards or frameworks h...
What needs improvement with RSA Archer?
While it provides benefits in terms of security, the pricing is a bit higher than customers typically expect. It woul...
What is your primary use case for RSA Archer?
Regarding the compliance, risk, and governance tools, I am comfortable discussing the tools in the GRC category. The ...
What do you like most about SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
The tool helps create reports for projects, including the creation of any ad-hoc reports
What needs improvement with SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
Regarding automation, they could enhance features for checking real-time data when someone attempts to access data wi...
What is your primary use case for SAP BusinessObjects GRC?
I work with SAP, and currently I am working with other domains such as Power BI, Microsoft, and in the AI sector. Whe...
 

Also Known As

OpenPages
Archer
BusinessObjects GRC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Nationwide, Process Innovation AG, OSRAM Licht AG, Dep‹sito Central de Valores (DCV), Delta Lloyd Group, Unum
T-Systems, Bridge Point, Equifax, First Data, Global Imaging Company, Manulife Financial
INEOS Melamines GmbH, Banco Galicia
Find out what your peers are saying about RSA, OneTrust, Diligent and others in GRC. Updated: September 2025.
869,952 professionals have used our research since 2012.